Language Proficiency Required for Field Research

[deutsch1997bw]

In preparation for a Political Science PhD program, I will be attending an MA program in Russian and East European Studies. Although I applied to PhD programs this past application cycle, I was ultimately unsuccessful. One of my primary goals for the MA program is to really develop my Russian language skills, which, at this point, are non-existent. Because of the intense nature of the program, I will have the equivalent of five years of language training by August 2020, including potentially time spent in Russia. I plan to matriculate to the PhD program that same year. 

My question is this: Will this amount of language training be sufficient to conduct field research as a PhD student? Note that my plan is to do 1.5 more years of language training at the beginning of my PhD program. 

[MastersHoping]

I'm also in a political science PhD program. It seems that, for most intents and purposes, that should be enough to do research with your target language. I'd recommend you continue studying and practicing Russian even outside of formal training. Watch YouTube videos, talk to people, use Duolingo, etc. 

Now, the longer answer is that it depends what your goals are for your research. In any case, there is never an "end" to language learning, so even when you reach your target goal for the language, I'd still keep going. 

[Glasperlenspieler]

On 5/25/2018 at 4:06 PM, deutsch1997bw said:

My question is this: Will this amount of language training be sufficient to conduct field research as a PhD student? Note that my plan is to do 1.5 more years of language training at the beginning of my PhD program. 

To be honest, it's impossible to say with the information you've given. As you probably know, people pick up languages as different rates. The learning environment determines a lot as well. An intensive language training is worlds apart from a couple of hours a week and then your degree of engagement also determines whether those contact hours make a difference. Heck, I've known people how have lived abroad for multiple years without any significant improvement in their ability to speak the local language.

Point being, the years of study doesn't really matter. What matters is your level of competency. Assuming field research involves interviews or something of that nature, I'd say a C1 on the CEFR scale is a good goal. You could maybe get by with a B2 but I'd shoot for a C1. Of course, as @MastersHoping points out, language leanring never ends. So a C1 certification isn't an end point, but rather a helpful checkpoint.

Edited May 27, 2018 by Glasperlenspieler

[deutsch1997bw]

 

31 minutes ago, Glasperlenspieler said:

To be honest, it's impossible to say with the information you've given. As you probably know, people pick up languages as different rates. The learning environment determines a lot as well. An intensive language training is worlds apart from a couple of hours a week and then your degree of engagement also determines whether those contact hours make a difference. Heck, I've known people how have lived abroad for multiple years without any significant improvement in their ability to speak the local language.

Point being, the years of study doesn't really matter. What matters is your level of competency. Assuming field research involves interviews or something of that nature, I'd say a C1 on the CEFR scale is a good goal. You could maybe get by with a B2 but I'd shoot for a C1. Of course, as @MastersHoping points out, language leanring never ends. So a C1 certification isn't an end point, but rather a helpful checkpoint.

 

On 5/25/2018 at 4:04 PM, MastersHoping said:

I'm also in a political science PhD program. It seems that, for most intents and purposes, that should be enough to do research with your target language. I'd recommend you continue studying and practicing Russian even outside of formal training. Watch YouTube videos, talk to people, use Duolingo, etc. 

Now, the longer answer is that it depends what your goals are for your research. In any case, there is never an "end" to language learning, so even when you reach your target goal for the language, I'd still keep going. 

Thanks for the responses. The program I will be doing this summer involves five hours of in-class study M-F, plus afternoon/evening language activities. I will also have a tutor. My goal, as @Glasperlenspieler notes, is to achieve C1, but, of course, I would like to become completely fluent. 

[rising_star]

It's really difficult to say if that will be enough because it will depend in part on the nature of your field research. Will you be doing qualitative, quantitative, or archival research primarily? Are there relevant accents or dialects you'll need to become accustomed to? How much time will you spend actually in Russia using the language skills you're gaining? Are there any language courses (or sections of courses) targeted to the vocabulary you'll need to do your research?

[ExponentialDecay]

In addition to what's already been said, my advice is to start working with the type of documents you'll be researching bright and early. These programs tend to teach either conversational language skills or the literary language, which are different than the academic or bureaucratic registers. Soviet documents will have a lot of jargon that's not in use today, etc... 

[TMP]

On 5/29/2018 at 1:21 PM, ExponentialDecay said:

In addition to what's already been said, my advice is to start working with the type of documents you'll be researching bright and early. These programs tend to teach either conversational language skills or the literary language, which are different than the academic or bureaucratic registers. Soviet documents will have a lot of jargon that's not in use today, etc... 

Agreed.  I passed through B1 in German but my reading skills are higher.  I've been working a far amount of 1940s documents including Nazi bureaucracy. I can read newspapers a bit more comfortably but going through government materials is another thing....  Figuring out proficiency is not so much about quantity of time spent studying but the quality of time. I've always found that spending summers at Middlebury Language Schools beat any regular university-level courses because I'm engaged with the language more hours in the day than just a few within the classroom setting.

I wouldn't stress out so much; do your best.  You will figure out what is the best path for improvement once you get to Russia for preliminary research.  For me, once I got to Germany, it was about nailing down bureaucratic language.